I have to apologise to everyone twice. First for being a few days overdue with the last ludi of '57, and secondly for not writing detailed reports about the quarters. My scribe was to go to the circus, but instead he took the money and went to a brothel -- not the kind of stuff I pay the man to do. At any rate, the scribe has been fired, but it appears that I am without quarter reports, devoid of inspiration and overwhelmed with end-of-the-year work as I am.

Three usual suspects are fielded against a lucky Blue. Let's see how they fare. Although Damnator cannot be beaten anymore for the first spot this year, actio Albata can. All they have to do is make sure Damnator doesn't survive the semis. But in this semi, it's Gold against Red and Blue. Morgareth and Callidus are the first to race forward. Callidus has been invogorated by his much-anticipated victory in the last races, and is easily letting Morgareth behind him. Indutiomarus and Myrtilos are in hot pursuit, and Morgareth now has to turn his attention to them. Indutiomarus uses his hulking chariot and composition to prevent Myrtilos from passing the Golden duo. Although frustrated, he does not give up.

Everyone is struck by surprise as Callidus suddenly hits the meta. He took a turn too freely, and now must suffer the consequences of his speed. The charioteer himself is unharmed, but the Russata fans now know that any chance of becoming 2757's team lies in Maximus's hands. By the crash, Indutiomarus and Morgareth have to avoid the tilted chariot and scrape the walls. Temporarily Myrtilos turns this to his advantage, but not enough to keep the two Golden charioteers from winning this semi: Morgareth is first, Indutiomarus is second.

Two Greens versus one Red and one White. Two of them are violent racers, and have proven their lethal potential more than once. Maximus is the first one to gain the upper hand after a confusing starting round, with much dust swirling up and a lot of bravado on either side. Hannibal briefly skirmishes with the spina, and is soon left behind by the others. Damnator and Trophimus are going neck-on-neck for a second spot.

Damnator cracks his whip, but the whip almost hits its own master. He curses and tries to pass Trophimus the regular way again. Meanwhile Hannibal knows that he's lost this battle, unless one of the others experiences and unfortunate crash. But, unfortunately for Hannibal, Maximus's Centaurus is keeping a steady pace and appears to be succeeding where Callidus failed this time. Damnator and Trophimus don't get anywhere near him during the entire race. Trophimus is then forced to fall back after he, too, briefly touches the meta and spina in a wild chase of Damnator. The evil White seizes this opportunity, and easily becomes second. All hope is not lost for Russata to win '57, but this means Damnator must at least become third, and Maximus first, in the finals!

The ludi Solis Invicti are coming to a close, and so are the circenses of 2757. The four contenders are shield-mates Indutiomarus and Morgareth, champion Damnator and lastly Maximus, who faces near impossible odds to win the teams title for his team, factio Russata.

Damnator realises that he has much to lose if he lets victory slip through his fingers, and immediately goes to work in the beginning, ramming his Fulmen Draconis aggressively into Indutiomarus's heavy Gallia Victrix. The Gallia Victrix survives the first assault, but the second one, as Morgareth and Maximus have escaped the carnage and are now facing off for first and second spot, proves to be less fortunate. The chariot breaks in two, and Indutiomarus has to cling to the broken front of his chariot, while the span keeps on running for another half round. Damnator moves on.

Meanwhile Maximus has fallen behind a little, and Morgareth is leading. Damnator ignores the Centaurus, whom he has destroyed many times, and sets his gaze towards the Infernerator. Only one strike of his whip suffices: the black leather curls around Morgareth's throat, and the former leader of the Golden Horde gasps and is then flung backward, his chariot ramming the nearest wall as his span breaks up in panic. This gives Maximus the opportunity, this late in the race, to rocket past Damnator and claim the first spot! The champion of '56 and '57 is nearly foaming with anger, but attempts to control his temper by engaging in a mad pursuit. To no avail: Maximus, fueled by ambition, fear and godly inspiration, avoids the whiplash, the walls and the spina, and... comes first. However, since Damnator is second, this means that factio Albata wins again. After subtraction of its 15 points for being the most hated factio, the difference with Russata boils down to... 1 point.

Either I'm being my usual oblivious self, or your maths leaves something to be desired. 120 - 15 is 105, which is less than the 184 of the factio that apparently came 2nd, and also less than the 117 of the factio that came third...

Perhaps the points refers only to points accumulated over just this year, while the number of victories is the total? After all, although Romulus was fairly dominant in the early stages, I certainly don't remember him winning six victories last year.

Perhaps, mi Draco, you should post your calculations to clear up any confusion.

Indeed, these six victories refer to a total spread over two seasons. If you come both first in the quarter, semi and final, you can have a maximum of 24 points. But if you only win two times, and get eliminated in the quarters each time, charioteers who get to see the semis and finals each time (thereby sure of accumulating some points) will eventually attain a higher ranking. What everyone can earn with what position is on the website. The points system favours steady charioteers over completely random ones.